Kalusha Bwalya (born 16 August 1963) is a Zambian former international
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
. He is
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
's
eighth-most capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
player and third on the list of
all-time top goalscorers behind
Godfrey Chitalu
Godfrey Chitalu, nicknamed Ucar (22 October 1947 – 27 April 1993), was a Zambian footballer who played as a forward. He is widely regarded as the greatest Zambian player of all time as he holds his national team's goalscoring record and was ...
and
Alex Chola. Kalusha was named
African Footballer of the Year
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
in 1988 by the magazine ''
France Football
''France Football'' is a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclusiv ...
'' and was nominated for the
1996 FIFA World Player of the Year where he was voted the 12th-best player in the world, the first to be nominated after playing the entire year for a non-European club.
His older brother
Benjamin Bwalya played professional football, and his younger brother
Joel Bwalya also played for Zambia. His cousin is former
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
and
Welsh national team
)
, Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW)
, Confederation = UEFA (Europe)
, Coach = Rob Page
, Captain = Gareth Bale
, Most caps = Gareth Bale (111)
, Top scorer = Gareth ...
member
Robert Earnshaw
Robert Earnshaw (born 6 April 1981) is a Welsh former international footballer who played as a forward. He is the only player to have scored a hat-trick in the Premier League, all three divisions of the English Football League, the League Cup, ...
.
His career as a player, coach and president of the Football Association of Zambia is partly shown in the documentary film "
Eighteam".
On 20 March 2016, Kalusha lost the
Football Association of Zambia
The Football Association of Zambia is the governing body of association football in Zambia founded in 1929 and based at the "Football House" on Alick Nkhata Road in Lusaka, the country's capital.
Affiliated to Confederation of African Football, ...
(FAZ) elections to a renowned businessman-turned football official
Andrew Kamanga
Andrew Ndanga Kamanga (born 21 December 1966) is a Zambian football administrator and current president of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ). Previously, he was chairman of Kabwe Warriors F.C. and was elected president during the 2016 FA ...
by 163 to 156 votes in what many thought was an impossible task for the challenger.
In August, 2018, the world soccer governing body
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
banned Bwalya for two years from all football-related activities at both national and international level. The FIFA
adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee found him guilty of having violated article 16 (Confidentiality) and article 20 (Offering and accepting gifts and other benefits) of the FIFA Code of Ethics. It is alleged that Bwalya received a bribe in the form of a gift from
Mohammed Bin Hammam, a Qatari official. Kalusha is considered one of the greatest players in Zambian football history.
International career
Bwalya was a member of the national squad that participated at the
1988 Olympic Games
1988 Olympics refers to both:
*The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
*The 1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul ...
, making his mark with a most famous
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
in a 4–0 victory against
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. At the full international level, he appeared in 87 international matches and scored 39 goals from 1983 to 2004. He debuted against
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
in April 1983 at
Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium in a Cup of Nations qualifier in Ndola, and scored his first goal against
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
in a World Cup qualifier the following year at the same venue. He has appeared in multiple tournaments, including six editions of the
African Cup of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...
.
Although he was captain of the national football team during the
qualification matches for the
1994 World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...
, Kalusha was not on
the ill-fated flight on 28 April 1993 when the entire team and its management were killed when the plane crashed into the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
off
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
. As he was playing for
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...
, his schedule had him flying from the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
to join the team instead of being on the team plane. Kalusha Bwalya, Africa's most famous "Number 11", took on the mantle of spearheading the revival of the national side the following year, captaining the side to the
Runners-Up
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements. spot at the
CAF African Nations Cup 1994 in Tunisia—where they succumbed to the
Super Eagles
The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In April 1994, t ...
of
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
; this was to be the peak of his own career and Zambian football for a long time to come. The national team finished in 3rd place at the next edition of the
Africa Cup in South Africa in 1996, with Kalusha winning the Golden Boot Award as the top scorer at the tournament.
He was a player-coach during the African
2006 World Cup qualification matches. On 5 September 2004, Zambia played
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
, and the match was tied 0–0 minutes before the end. Kalusha, aged 41, came off the bench during the second half, scoring from a trademark
direct free kick
A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the laws by the opposing team.
Direct and indirect free kicks
Free kicks may be either direct or indirect, distinguished as follows:
...
to give Zambia a 1–0 victory and the lead of Africa's
Group 1 Group 1 may refer to:
* Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal
* Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N
* Group On ...
. However, Zambia finished third and failed to qualify for the
2006 World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
.
Despite the failure to qualify, Bwalya coached Zambia at the
2006 African Cup of Nations
The 2006 Africa Cup of Nations was the 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa. It was hosted by Egypt. Just like in 2004, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Egypt won ...
. Following their elimination in the first round, however, Bwalya resigned from his post.
Kalusha's dream of holding the coveted AFCON trophy came 2012 when the Zambia National Football Team, which was underestimated by many football pundits upset the star-studded Ivory Coast to win the final of the 2012 tournament. As Zambian FA President, he joined the players and lifted the cup in a country where his former teammates perished in an aircraft disaster. This emotional story is narrated in the documentary film "
Eighteam", directed by Juan Rodriguez-Briso.
He has nevertheless remained actively involved in international football, contributing to the
2006 World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
as a member of FIFA's Technical Study Group. He was also one of the ambassadors of the
2010 World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
which was held in South Africa.
Club career
Bwalya's career in Europe began at
Cercle Brugge
Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Divisio ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. In his first season, he was the club's top scorer and was twice voted supporters' player of the year. Such was his impact that Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven took him to the
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
, and he describes winning the championship twice in 1990/91 and 1991/92, under
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...
, as a career highlight.
He jokingly adds that: "Most of the time we played in the opponents half, because the team was so good. You know, we had
Romario,
Gerald Vanenburg
Gerald Mervin Vanenburg (born 5 March 1964) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger.
He amassed Eredivisie totals of 372 games and 112 goals for Ajax and PSV combined, winning fifteen major titles between the two ...
,
Eric Gerets
Eric Maria Gerets (, born 18 May 1954) is a Belgian football manager and former player who played as a right back.
He started his playing career as an amateur for his local team AA Rekem, before achieving success with Standard Liège and PSV. ...
,
Wim Kieft
Willem Cornelis Nicolaas "Wim" Kieft (born 12 November 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Kieft went into punditry in 2001, occasionally appearing on football talk show ''Voetbal Inside''
A prolific ...
and
Hans van Breukelen
Johannes Franciscus "Hans" van Breukelen (; born 4 October 1956) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was the technical director of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) from 2017 until 2018.
Van Breuke ...
and just to be with that group, to train with them day in, day out, was an experience."
Bwalya's next stop was Club America, to whom he moved in 1994. The Mexican club's home ground is the legendary Azteca, an arena of which the Zambian icon has very fond memories. As he told FIFA.com: "I am privileged to have played in the best stadium in the world – and to have been able to call it my home ground." The Mexico experience in general was cherished by Bwalya, who devoted almost eight years of his career to the country and recalls his time there as "probably the best of my life".
On the international front, his earliest achievement was arguably one of the most remarkable
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
s in modern football history, with three-times World Cup champions Italy on the receiving end in a 4–0 win for the Zambians at the 1988 Olympics. Bwalya acknowledges that the result was a surprise, but adds: "Zambia is a sleeping giant in a way. It is a small country in terms of football, but we were the first African team to beat a European power as convincingly as that."
Administrative career
Bwalya currently serves as a standing committee member at
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
and the
Confederation of African Football
The Confederation of African Football, or CAF for short (french: link=yes, Confédération Africaine de Football, ar, link=yes, الاتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم, al-Ittiḥād al-Afrīqī li-Kurat al-Qadam), is the administ ...
and as of 2008 was the president of the
Football Association of Zambia
The Football Association of Zambia is the governing body of association football in Zambia founded in 1929 and based at the "Football House" on Alick Nkhata Road in Lusaka, the country's capital.
Affiliated to Confederation of African Football, ...
from 2008 to 2016. He lost the FA presidency to
Andrew Kamanga
Andrew Ndanga Kamanga (born 21 December 1966) is a Zambian football administrator and current president of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ). Previously, he was chairman of Kabwe Warriors F.C. and was elected president during the 2016 FA ...
when he attempted a third term bid in office during the 2016 FAZ AGM.
Previously he was vice president.
In the first half of 2006, Bwalya resigned from his position as the Zambia coach but having served as vice president of the
Football Association of Zambia
The Football Association of Zambia is the governing body of association football in Zambia founded in 1929 and based at the "Football House" on Alick Nkhata Road in Lusaka, the country's capital.
Affiliated to Confederation of African Football, ...
until 2008, he was voted in to be president as of 2008. This was as a result of pressure from members of the
Football Association of Zambia
The Football Association of Zambia is the governing body of association football in Zambia founded in 1929 and based at the "Football House" on Alick Nkhata Road in Lusaka, the country's capital.
Affiliated to Confederation of African Football, ...
as well as the media. On 23 February 2008, he was elected into the
CAF Executive Committee.
Honours and achievements
;Mufulira Wanderers
*
Zambian Challenge Cup
According to records from the RSSSF, there were many association football cup competitions organized in Zambia since 1962, some of which are the Independence Cup, the Zambian Challenge Cup (both organized in 1961), the Champion of Champions Cup ( ...
: 1984
;PSV
*
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
:
1990–91,
1991–92
*
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
:
1989–90
*
Dutch Supercup
The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...
:
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
Individual
Awards
* 2 x Pop Poll d'Echte
Cercle Brugge K.S.V.
Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Divisi ...
: Player of the Year: 1986–87 & 1987–88.
*
African Footballer of the Year
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
: 1988
Performances
* 1996 Afcon Top Scorer
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bwalya, Kalusha
1963 births
Living people
People from Mufulira
Zambian footballers
Zambia international footballers
Zambian football managers
Mufulira Wanderers F.C. players
Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players
Club América footballers
Club Necaxa footballers
Irapuato F.C. footballers
C.D. Veracruz footballers
Correcaminos UAT footballers
Club León footballers
Liga MX players
PSV Eindhoven players
Al Wahda FC players
Belgian First Division A players
Eredivisie players
Olympic footballers of Zambia
Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
1986 African Cup of Nations players
1992 African Cup of Nations players
1994 African Cup of Nations players
1996 African Cup of Nations players
1998 African Cup of Nations players
2000 African Cup of Nations players
Zambian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
Expatriate footballers in Mexico
Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates
Zambia national football team managers
African Footballer of the Year winners
2006 Africa Cup of Nations managers
Association football forwards
Association football wingers
UAE Pro League players